Almost there!
Check your email inbox to finalise email verification. You ll then be asked to choose a password so you can log in to The Spinoff.
February 25, 2021
Remembering Weta, New Zealand’s greatest lost rock band
Before his passing in 2020, Weta frontman Aaron Tokona initiated the vinyl reissue of the band’s sole album Geographica. Released last week, it’s a poignant reminder that the band were on the cusp of cracking Australia 20 years ago.
Rock bands in Australia reside at one of two poles, according to Weta drummer Clinton den Heyer. The uncomplicated binary system used by Australian fans means acts are either venerated as a bloody legend, or condemned to the icy wastelands of nothingness.
Weta were (from left) Aaron Tokona, Clinton Tokona, Gabriel Atkinson and Clinton den Heyer.
Less than a year after the death of their frontman, Weta have remastered their debut album for its 20th anniversary. The band tells Chris Schulz how they made it happen. In early 2000, Clinton den Heyer was lying in his Melbourne bedroom, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Stressed out about what was happening the following day, the drummer for the fledgling Kiwi rock act Weta was bricking it. I suffered from terrible anxiety. I basically had a week of panic attacks, den Heyer says. It was really clear to me that this was a huge opportunity.